The Beauty Clean-Up #1

This is essentially an empties post however I decided to put it under a different name – The Beauty Clean-up, as to put forward I guess, an ongoing project that I have been thinking about for a while. For months even.

Once you become a beauty enthusiast, it’s very easy to also become a hoarder because really and truly, there are only so many products you use in a day, in a week, in a year. So naturally, there will be products that don’t get used as much, that get left behind – is it a lie to think we need all these products in our lives?

I like to think of myself as a smart shopper, but in the recent year or so, my beauty drawer has been expanding and it bothers me in the sense that no matter how good the products are, I’m not using them up simply because they’re not being touched!

Therefore, I am challenging myself to use up many of these products whilst not buying anything for the rest of the year unless I really need to. For example, I won’t buy a new cleanser if I have 3 in line to use, but will if I have 0 queued.

I’m looking forward to this series already because I think it’ll be very fulfilling! As such, this particular post will be organised in product type/category as there are many empties.

Cleansers

The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter had been on my wishlist, and before I knew it, I got it and used it up quite easily. The scent is very calming as expected. The product itself is great – takes everything off. My problem is actually with the quantity. However, it is travel-friendly!

For about a year, I have been fanatical about Garnier scrubs – in particular, their Pure Active line. I used up every ounce I could get out of the Garnier Pure Active Intensive Daily Exfoliating Scrub, and really, I’m quite sad it’s gone. I love to exfoliate my skin with this and there’s a minty-freshness which I like – perfect for blemished skin. It also helps control and shorten my breakouts. Still, the 3-in-1 is my favourite out of the range.

The Garnier Micellar Cleansing Wateris nothing new. It’s my lazy go-to cleanser when I’m too lazy to double-cleanse. (I know, I know, skin sin! But I cannot be the only one?) It’s also my AM cleanser (again, lazy). For a while after my Simple Toner (see below) ran out, I used it as a ‘toner’ too. I’m actually really neutral about the product despite it being multifunctional. I mostly like this for sweeping away any excess oil. For the most part, I don’t recommend for removing makeup (although you will do this) as it requires many cotton wipes.

Toners

The Simple Soothing Toner can be described as my go-to toner. I have used up numerous bottles so this is an easy one to talk about. In fact, I have no qualms with finishing the product ever. It’s what it says – soothing. Perfect for sensitive skin. But I do think I need to try something new next.

Toners in Japan are called ‘lotions’. But do you know how I’ve been using the Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid for close to 5 months? Like a serum. 😂 So other than double-cleansing, I have been double-toning! However, I don’t think that affected my experience with the product too much. It adds a lot of moisture back into my skin. It’s featured in one of my Favourites post here.

Eye Care

This isn’t too much of a hoarding territory. Nevertheless, I finished Clinique’s All About Eyes recently. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this even though I love Clinique skincare, as I find eye care difficult to not be sceptical about. This is a light-weight cream that goes a long way. It smooths out and hydrates the under-eye area and de-puffs it. This is a close favourite, just behind Kiehl’s.

Perfumes

This will be a more difficult category to clean-up so I don’t expect too much. My main aim was to finish the perfumes close to being an empty just to clear some space on my dressing table. My Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume finally came to an end after almost 2 years. It’s a very light and fresh daytime perfume, perfect for simple day-outs.

Dior perfumes are definitely my favourite. So much so that I purchased a set of minis from the airport many years ago (I don’t want to count how long ago). Miss Dior and Addict had been long used up. The rest were very close to its finishing line, but finally!

Diorrisimo and Dune are vintage Dior scents. The former from the 50s, a fresh floral scent; the latter from the 90s, a more sophisticated, woody scent. That’s a big deal because there are women in their 50s/60s still using these, but that’s not to say the scents are old-lady! Rather, I want to say they encompass an aspiring, womanly scent that’s timeless. I want to smell like this. It’s those scents not defined by age, but feeling.

Pure Poison is more of an evening scent that is more interesting than Dune in my opinion. More special, as it is able to portray both an innocent side and a rebellious side. There really is nothing else that smells like this (although call me bias, I can easily recognise Dior perfumes from others) but this particular one stands on its own. Try it sometime!

10 products have been cleaned-up in total.

I look forward to the next post as I have 6 new empties lined up already!

That’s really great! I love beauty, especially skincare but I feel equally as awful when I have barely gone through a product and have to chuck it away 😕I’d be really interested to see what you discover and use up! 😊It’s very fulfilling.

I haven’t bought a face wash, cleanser or toner for months! Lol! My stash is big but now reducing. 😊 I have some amazing Korean products but they can no longer be purchased from the UK which makes me sad. 😢 I love the whitening toners and products with snail serum. 👍

Ebay is your best friend for Korean products! I’m based in the UK too and I have bought a couple of products on there for a very good price too! Saying that, the other day I was in TK Maxx and the other numerous times I’ve been there, they had a few Korean beauty products including Etude House! I was mesmerised lol

Hahahaha! Brilliant! I used to get subscription boxes from Meme Box in Korea which were packed with amazing things. I think Korean stuff in the UK is overpriced. 😢 I have a face cream to use that’s called ‘Happy Pig Fat’ or something equally awful…but in the spirit of using up all my products… 😂😂😂